Member Avatar for Catweazle

The BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson has announced plans to introduce a BBCPlayer service, which will enable viewers to download and play seven days of programs, and also to simulcast one of the BBC channels. The simulcast will only be made available to UK viewers. It is quite likely that archived content will be sold online also.

Unless broadcasters adapt, Mr. Thompson suggests, they will be unable and unworthy to retain their licenses in years to come.

Britain is expected to switch to ‘digital-only’ broadcasting quite soon. The digital revolution is definitely upon us.

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A short, factual follow‑up to the posts from 2005: the BBC’s player plans matured into the service known today as BBC iPlayer. The project moved through public trials in 2004–2006 and was publicly unveiled in mid‑2007, with the service put into open beta the following month. (Guardian: iPlayer unveiled, June 2007). (theguardian.com)

A clarification that addresses ’s point: "digital broadcasting" (the region‑by‑region transition from analogue transmitters to digital terrestrial television) is a separate programme of work from "webcasting/streaming" (delivering video over the internet). The UK’s transmitter switchover was implemented regionally and did not finish overnight — the last analogue regions were turned off in October 2012. (GOV.UK: digital switchover completion, 24 Oct 2012). (gov.uk)

Technical and rights reality shaped how the player rolled out. The early public offering had platform restrictions and attracted public debate about cross‑platform support; the BBC added streaming support for non‑Windows platforms later in 2007 and evolved the client technology over subsequent years. Also, the service remained subject to content rights and licence conditions (so access and playback methods changed over time and were geographically restricted). (Guardian: iPlayer relaunch, Dec 2007; Wired: platform support, Sept 2007). (theguardian.com)

A later practical note for readers arriving years after this thread: the iPlayer continued to change (clients, DRM, streaming vs downloads, platform availability). For example, desktop downloads for PCs and Macs were later phased out in 2024 as usage patterns shifted toward streaming and mobile apps. (). ()

Takeaway: the original predictions were directionally correct — the BBC did move aggressively into online delivery — but the technical, rights and rollout details evolved over several years, not months. The practical differences between broadcast switchover and internet catch‑up remain important when judging who's affected and why.

Member Avatar for benna

First of all, as someone in the US, I wish they would let me use it, though i know it wouldn't be fair, since I don't pay for it with my taxes. I used to watch BBC World using a proxy but they no longer stream that. It's too bad, since it was much better than CNN.

I would be surpised if the BBC sold its content online. People in the UK pay for it already with taxes, and in all likelyhood the BBC would distribute it for free. The BBC is really much smarter than the networks in the US. The internet is the future.

I think you might be confusing digital broadcasting with webcasting though. The UK is switching to digital television, as is the US, because of its theoretical higher quality and (in reality) because it takes less bandwidth. This is really unrelated to the webcasting.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

No, benna, a simulcast (webcasting plus broadcasting) was definitely put on the agenda at the recent Edinburgh Television Festival. Webcasting will follow soon after the switch to digital-only broadcasting, which is expected within a matter of months, apparently. The MyBBCPlayer should arrive early next year.

Member Avatar for benna

I'm not disputing that. You just made it sound like a digital broadcast was the same as a webcast.

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